Kenny Chesney’s “Summer in 3D” was the best-selling concert DVD its opening week of sales, despite being available at only one outlet: Kmart. It bested U2, George Strait, Bon Jovi, and Barbara Streisand.
“It seemed like there was a lot of confusion about what markets the movie was showing in, what times, when was it opening,” Chesney says with a laugh. “This time, it was easy: log on, place your order and have it arrive at your front door. I know from what people told me during the theatrical run, people felt like we really captured the energy and the heart of our live shows, so it’s nice to know that’s something people want to take him with them, too.”
“It’s funny,” says director Joe Thomas, who’s directed 7 chart-topping concert DVDs for the likes of Tom Petty, Dave Matthews Band, Fleetwood Mac and Bon Jovi. “People have such a hunger to see Kenny… to share in these shows and this energy… they don’t care what dimension it is. You bring them into his concert experience, and they respond.”
“We’ve done concert specials,” Chesney explains. “I figured if we were gonna go into movie theatres, if this was about making a long form piece, we needed to give people something more… something a little bit deeper. And we shot the lights out of our show, but this was also about the journey to get to 65,000 people in a football stadium… the love affair between me, my guys, those fans and these songs… and I think that comes through.
“Seeing that people responded to the DVD like this, especially since you couldn’t just go to Amazon.com or somewhere and get it, it makes me feel really good – because it means what we do means something to those people we’ve been sharing our summers with for the past 8 years.”
If you still haven’t picked up Summer In 3D, get it now at Kmart.com.
We reported last week that Kenny Chesney: Summer In 3D would be released to DVD and Blu-ray on June 8th based on listings on a few different sites. But today, Kmart announced that they’ll be offering the 2D version of Summer In 3D exclusively through their website and their stores beginning June 13th.
Both DVD and Blu-ray versions are available for pre-order now at Kmart.com. The DVD version is $14.99 and the Blu-ray is $19.99.
“We are excited to continue our relationship with Kenny Chesney, who has reached so many people with his wonderful music and who is now making a splash in the movie business with his new concert film,” said Karen Austin, president of Home Electronics for Sears Holdings. “As families continue to look for the newest home entertainment solutions, Kmart is pleased to offer them the latest in consumer electronics, as well as an exclusive opportunity to be among the first to own the 2D version of Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D.”
In conjunction with the DVD release, Kmart is running a special online sweepstakes through June 20 at www.kmart.com/kennychesney. Fans can enter for the chance to win autographed merchandise and prizes, including the grand prize of an all-expense paid trip for two to Las Vegas to meet Kenny Chesney and see him live in concert.
According to severaldifferentsites, Kenny Chesney’s “Summer In 3D” will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 8th.
The 99 minute-long movie directed by Joe Thomas and distributed by Sony Pictures finished up its two week stint in theaters this past weekend. Despite the limited run, “Summer In 3D” became one of the top grossing 3D music films of all time, just behind U2 and the Rolling Stones.
“When the director called to tell us our first night we’d out-performed the entire theatrical showings of some very big acts, I was thrilled,” said Chesney. “Because it means that the people who came out last summer and over the last 8 years, they wanna remember how good it felt just as much as we do… and they figured out how to get out of the house at very specific times for an unconventional film.”
If you haven’t seen Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D yet, this weekend is your last chance! After the first weekend the film, only showing in select theaters, managed the number 7 position at the box office, and has out-earned all 3D films by legitimate music acts except the Rolling Stones and U2.
“This isn’t the same kind of animal as a straight theatrical release,” Chesney said of the film that captured 6 NFL stadium shows on his million + ticket-selling Sun City Carnival Tour. “And I hate that people didn’t understand you had to find the time the film would be shown, and that all theatres are not capable of screening it… because this film is as much about those faces as it is about reliving last year’s pretty amazing summer!
“In spite of that, when the director called to tell us our first night we’d out-performed the entire theatrical showings of some very big acts, I was thrilled. Because it means that the people who came out last summer and over the last 8 years, they wanna remember how good it felt just as much as we do… and they figured out how to get out of the house at very specific times for an unconventional film.”
“The biggest challenge is helping people understand: you need to see it now. You need to know it’s not playing over and over, only at specific times. It is a finite run. But especially, all the fans are pretty amazing to see. As I’ve said in a bunch of interviews: so many times when I’m in the midst of a show, I’d stop and think, ‘I wish they could see how this looks and they could feel what I feel.’ To me, the beauty of this movie is now you can – you truly can know how it feels on that stage with us.”
“It’s crazy… seeing how big these shows are, how loud the crowds are, how much this music means to the people,” says the high energy performer. “If someone had told me one day our shows would be a movie – let alone a 3D film – I’d've thought they’d lost their minds. But watching the faces and the band, it’s the most natural thing in the world – and I’m so glad it’s out there and rocking.”
Find theaters near you. Be sure to check your listings as it’s only playing at certain times.
Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D grossed more than 1 million dollars in its first four days, placing it seventh in the box office standings according to The Tennessean. Seventh is a formidable position considering the film is only playing in 3D theaters and at limited times.
If you haven’t yet seen “Summer In 3D,” you only have one more week to see it. Find theaters near you that are screening the film.
The Tennessean also recently talked to Kenny about the movie:
It’s supposed to be a feel-good affair, this Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D movie. It’s largely a concert film, with sing-alongs, smiles, beach balls, electric guitars and the like.
But near the movie’s end, things change.
Chesney is shown on stage in Indianapolis, at the same massive arena where the NCAA Final Four was recently held. The place was full, as most places are when Chesney — country’s top-drawing performer of the new century — plays a show. The singer was wrapping up his 2009 summer tour with the wistful “Better as a Memory,” and he was exhausted.
Chesney stood on stage, overcome with the emotion that he’d felt was muted through much of the tour. Trying to choke back tears, he could not sing, and so the crowd sang for him.
“At that moment, I really didn’t know if I was ever going to do it again,” said Chesney, who has taken a break from touring this summer. “I was so tired. During that time, I’d lay in bed and go, ‘I don’t know.’ I’d given my soul to this. You give enough of your soul and don’t put anything back, sooner or later you’re going to be an empty guy.”
The 3D setting allows viewers a sense of the scale of Chesney’s stadium shows, and the camera shots provide perspective from the stage to the top rows of the massive, NFL football stadiums Chesney was playing.
“I’ve always wished the fans could see what I see, and with this they can,” said Chesney, who emerged somehow refreshed after spending hundreds of hours in the film’s editing process. “And I got to see it all from places I can’t usually see, too. In editing, I could get the enormity of this thing. It was good for me to be able to reflect on all this, and to wrap my arms around it. Somehow, you wind up inspired.”
He is also nothing if not committed to delivering a show that would validate his place as the guy who has earned unprecedented success as a Nashville-based live act. Even Garth Brooks did not tour the United States as voraciously or with such outsized results: Chesney has sold a million tickets, eight years in a row. And the competitor in Chesney deems any night that didn’t feel transcendent to be a failure.
“There were times when I thought, ‘If I have to get up there and sing “Big Star” one more time, I’m gonna die,’ ” he said, unsmiling at the memory. “And you can’t connect like that. And you can’t be up there thinking, ‘I’m not connecting like I want to.’ I mean, that won’t help. That’s why I decided I had to take a year away . . . for the integrity of me and the band and what we do, and for the fans. I thought, ‘It’s going to be new again at some point, and that ain’t gonna be tomorrow.’ ”
Don’t forget to tune in to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. Kenny Chesney will perform acoustically and talk to Jay about “Summer In 3D.”
“It’s sorta strange to be going on ‘The Tonight Show’ with a movie coming out,” Kenny says. “It’s very different, the idea of showing clips and talking about the experience of making this film. But it’s something we’ re all — me, the band, Joe Thomas the director, all the guys who worked on it — are really proud of, and it’s definitely getting me out of my comfort zone.”
“This will be maybe my most intimate performance ever on television, just like the movie is the most in-your-face, in-the-Goodyear Blimp, in-the-Sand Bar, on-the-stage, almost-under-my-hat we could make it,” Kenny says. “Consider the contrasts, and enjoy both phases.”
Kenny Chesney was back home on Wednesday night, premiering his movie “Summer In 3D” at the Regal Cinemas Pinnacle Stadium 18 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Knoxville.com has the story, including video of the event:
East Tennessee-born country star Kenny Chesney walked the red carpet, signed autographs and welcomed a crowd of about 1,000 to the premiere of his new concert film, “Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D,” on Wednesday evening at the Regal Cinemas Pinnacle Stadium 18 in Turkey Creek.
“This is the first time anybody outside of myself and the people who made it have seen this film,” said Chesney from a stage in the expansive Pinnacle lobby before the crowd went inside theaters to view the film.
Sponsorships and ticket sales for the event raised more than $130,000 for Variety — The Children’s Charity of Eastern Tennessee, the local chapter of which was founded by the Knoxville-based Regal Entertainment Group.
The crowd began arriving more than two hours before Chesney was scheduled to appear at the theater complex.
Inside Pinnacle, guests ate barbecued pork, beans and slaw furnished by Texas Roadhouse, along with beer, wine and soft drinks while the Chillbillies performed on a stage.
Chesney, for his part, seemed happy with the event.
Just before the screening Chesney told the crowd: “Growing up here allowed me to dream really big dreams … and this is the first time I’ve been able to show you what you guys helped create.”
Update – More from Kenny on “coming home” for the premiere:
“When you step back and consider how far you’ve come, in a lot of ways it makes you want to go back to where you come from,” said the high energy performer. “You realize how much the values you were raised with – and the support for crazy dreams – help you do things you would never consider. So who better to share a moment like that with? And to benefit Variety – which takes such an active role in making a difference in young people’s lives… that’s makes everything about this so much sweeter.”
“It’s heartening to know the people back home care,” Chesney explained. “I learned a lot about dreaming there. You wanna ground something this special in something that was that important. And, you know, it’s nice to know that that dreams matters just as much to the fans… cause to me, it’s their dream every bit as much as its mine.”
Kenny Chesney’s “Summer in 3D” was the best-selling concert DVD its opening week of sales, despite being available at only one outlet: Kmart. It bested U2, George Strait, Bon Jovi, and Barbara Streisand.
If you haven’t seen Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D yet, this weekend is your last chance! After the first weekend the film, only showing in select theaters, managed the number 7 position at the box office, and has out-earned all 3D films by legitimate music acts except the Rolling Stones and U2. 
We’ve been hearing about it for months now, but the day has finally arrived. Kenny Chesney: Summer In 3D hits theaters nationwide today!
Don’t forget to tune in to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. Kenny Chesney will perform acoustically and talk to Jay about “Summer In 3D.”
Kenny Chesney was back home on Wednesday night, premiering his movie “Summer In 3D” at the Regal Cinemas Pinnacle Stadium 18 in Knoxville, Tennessee. 
